Statistics

Community Violence

A comparison of delinquent and non-delinquent youth found that a history of family violence or abuse is the most significant difference between the two groups (Miller, G. "Violence By and Against America's Children," Journal of Juvenile Justice Digest, XVII(12) p.6. 1989)
According to the United States Department of Justice, law enforcement agencies arrested approximately 2.8 million juveniles in 1997. Of that number, 2,500 were arrested for murder and 121,000 for other violent crimes. Juveniles accounted for 19% of all arrests, 14% of murder arrests, and 17% of all violent crime arrests. (Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)
In 1997, the National Center for Health Statistics listed homicide as the fourth leading cause of death for children ages 1 through 4, third for youth ages 5 through 14, and second for persons ages 15 through 24. (National Center for Health Statistics. Death Rates for Selected Causes, by 5-year Age Groups 1997.)
The U.S. has the highest rates of childhood homicide, suicide, and firearm-related death among industrialized countries. (CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, February 7, 1997, Vol 46, No. 5, Rates of Homicide, Suicide, and Firearm-Related Death Among Children ñ 26 Industrialized Countries.)
The overall firearm-related death rate among U.S. children aged 15 years or less was nearly 12 times higher than among children in the other 25 industrialized countries combined. (CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, February 7, 1997, Vol. 46, No. 5, Rates of Homicide, Suicide, and Firearm-Related Death Among Children ñ 26 Industrialized Countries)
17% of persons arrested in 1999 were under the age of 18. (FBI, 2000, Crime in the United Statesó1999)
In 1996, handguns were used to murder 2 people in New Zealand, 15 in Japan, 30 in Great Britain, 106 in Canada, 213 in Germany and 9,390 in the United States. (Legal Community Against Violence, 2000)
Each year an estimated $2.3 billion are spent on medical care for the nation's gunshot victims. Almost half of that sum is paid by U.S. taxpayers. (Legal Community Against Violence, 2000)
Guns in this country cause the death of approximately 12 young people (those 19 years of age and under) each day. The overall firearm-related death rate among children under the age of 15 is nearly 12 times higher than among children in 25 other industrialized countries combined. (Legal Community Against Violence, 2000)